right-on.
Thanks for taking the time to explain that.
jbro
Mike Buetow <[log in to unmask]>
Sent by: DesignerCouncil <[log in to unmask]>
05/11/2005 12:32 PM
Please respond to
"(Designers Council Forum)" <[log in to unmask]>; Please respond to
Mike Buetow <[log in to unmask]>
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To
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Subject
Re: [DC] Propaganda Rant
Caterpillar: Confidential Green Retain Until: 06/10/2005 Retention
Category: G90 - General Matters/Administration
Having worked at IPC for six years -- and as the staff liaison to the
Designers Council for 2+ years -- and having covered the IPC and the
industry for far too many years now as a journalist, I have a couple of
points to make.
First, "IPC" is really two bodies.
One is the administrative staff in Illinois, which except for Dieter
Bergman in the 1960s, does not have any former designers. (Gary Ferrari
was one, but he left the organization a couple years back.) And I think it
is safe to say the staff is out of touch with what designers want and
need.
The other is its members, mostly companies but -- in the case of designers
-- individuals too. Those members pay, typically, $1000 a year to belong
to IPC. For that, they get access to price reductions on specs,
educational programs and trade shows. Also, they can participate in the
standards development process. This includes the software and other
add-ons that are often the brainchilds (brainchildren?) of folks in the
industry who can't get the funding within their companies or from the
gov't to make their ideas reality. Now, it should be noted that
non-members can also have a say in the standards process, because by law
(Sherman Act, etc.) associations cannot write standards for the purpose of
excluding a company or technology (I'm not a lawyer, so keep the legal
nitpicking to yourselves please :-) ). So even if a company isn't a
member, it can send agents to a standards meeting and voice its opinion.
Now when this forum takes aim at IPC or the DC, there is usually blowback.
And the reason for that, best as I can tell, is that many folks don't
distinguish between the admin staff in Illinois and the volunteers from
the member companies. The staff generally stays quiet (althgough I assume
they are monitoring all this); and the volunteers -- folks like Rick
Hartley, Andy Kowalewski, etc.-- end up taking a lot of unnecessary heat.
Fact is, the DC executive board is made up of volunteers, some who pay out
of their own pocket to participate, and the shame of it all is they while
they have a voice within IPC, they don't really have any influence. So
while the EB knows what designers want and need, and they make themselves
heard time and again on all sorts of matters big and small, by and large
that input goes for naught. I can't get into why that happens -- it would
be more conjecture than anything, although I'd bet dollars to donuts (or
doughnuts, if you prefer) I would be dead-on right. But suffice it to say,
a handful of folks ponying up $50 a year aren't going to draw the same
seats at the table as, say an exec at Solectron or Sanmina. Plus, like
most companies IPC as an organization is going to do what's in the best
interests of 1) its best-paying customers and 2) its most influential
staff.
I think it's obvious from the recurring comments in this forum that IPC
(the staff) does a crummy job at best at communicating why what the
organization is and how it can help designers. And no, saying membership
gives you the chance to spend even more of your hard-earned money is not
what I'd call an attractive selling point. As an industry we'd all be
helped by an IPC staff that was more active, imaginative and
knowledgeable. One man (Dieter) can only do so much. I personally think it
spoke volumes that when Gary Ferrari left, the IPC didn't really replace
him (no offense to any specific person is intended). Likewise, the signal
that the IPC is serious about the DC will come when it assigns a
high-level staffer (preferably a former designer) to manage the Council.
But when it's time to assess the situation, let's be sure we are pinning
the tail on the right, er, donkey.
Mike
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